What's a Cowgirl
by poetLaurie
Summary: Yes, another one shot, sue me LOL  Jessie's lost her hat...can Buzz and Woody et al cheer her up?  Will she be reunited with her beloved hat?  Has writing this helped my writer's block?  Oh, sorry, moving on... hope you like this! :D


**A/N:** Poor Jessie...she lost her hat. I apologize for this because it's literally second draft; I didn't do much in the way of revision. Had this idea in my head and I'm hoping, now that it's out, my writer's block for the other story will go away. Enjoy it anyway :)

PS- Doctor Who fans should get a few references. I couldn't help myself LOL

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><p>"Where is it? WHERE is it?" Jessie rummaged through Bonnie's backpack, falling inside.<p>

Buzz sat up from where Bonnie had left him before bedtime. He approached the rustling bag with caution, "Jessie? You need help?"

She poked her bare head through the opening, "You haven't seen it, have you?"

"Seen what?"

She sighed and gestured to her head, "My HAT, that's what! Bonnie took me to Sunnyside and we got to playing and now I can't find my hat." She moaned, climbing out of the backpack empty handed.

"I'm sure it's around here somewhere," he patted her shoulder.

She leveled a glare at him, "But I need to find it now! What's a cowgirl without her hat?"

He gulped, those green eyes always making his heart skip a beat, "M-maybe you can borrow one for the time being. Mrs. Potato Head has a lot of hats…"

Jessie sighed in exasperation, "Buzz! I need _my_ hat, not someone else's. You just don't understand." She walked away, her shoulders sagging in defeat.

Buzz watched her go, angry that he made her upset. He was about to turn and look for Woody when the cowboy tapped him on the shoulder, "What's eatin' Jessie?"

He explained the situation. "We have to do something, Woody. Her hat is probably somewhere at Sunnyside, so we can get it back tomorrow. I'll send a note to Barbie, I'm sure she'll be able to help. But what can I do while Bonnie's gone? You know how Jessie is, she'll be moping all day and I hate seeing her upset."

Woody smiled at his friend. He knew exactly how the Space Ranger felt about the Cowgirl. "I think I have an idea…" He whispered the plan to Buzz who nodded favorably.

The next day came and went. When Bonnie came home from Sunnyside, Jessie inspected the backpack, but there was still no sign of her hat.

"Jessie?" Woody found her sitting on the windowsill, her knees hugged to her chest. "Buzz told me about your hat. I'm sure it'll turn up."

"Thanks," she mumbled almost intelligibly.

"You want to come play checkers or hide and seek? Oh, I hear Mr. Pricklepants is doing another play, how about that?"

"No, thanks."

Woody pursed his lips, "'Fraid you really don't get a say." He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, you can't sit around pouting."

"Woody, I really don't want to-" she stopped short. Woody had managed to get her into the middle of the room where a bunch of tables had been set up in a line. Seated around the table were all of her friends: Dolly, Buttercup, the Peas, Mr. Pricklepants, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Bullseye, Chuckles, and Buzz. Woody led her to the two empty chairs and pushed her lightly into it. "What is this?" she eyed him suspiciously.

He winked at her, then turned to address the rest, "Ok, everyone…hats on!" With those two words, each one of them pulled out a hat. The peas were wearing sailor hats made from paper, the Potato Heads wore each other's familiar bowler and flowered hat. Mr. Pricklepants, instead of his jaunty felt cap, wore a big rainbow-colored wig. Dolly had made a huge hat with a floppy brim, and Chuckles wore a baby bonnet. Buttercup was wearing a basket piled high with fake fruit, a wide yellow ribbon tied in a bow under his head securing it on his head. Woody put the army helmet on Bullseye and then adjusted his Viking helmet.

Jessie looked at Buzz and laughed. He wore a blue bonnet with a large daisy plastered on the front. He smiled, "You're the guest of honor at our Mad Hatter's tea party."

"I'm underdressed," she patted her head, not without a touch of sorrow.

"We've got that covered, don't worry. Let's see, which shall it be?" Woody stood behind her, pulling out hats and setting them on her head, "How about a Stetson? A top hat? A crown? A fez? Fezzes are cool. No? Okay, what about whatever this thing is called," he plopped a thick, furry dome on her yarn hair. Jessie shook her head at each hat, her cheeks pink from laughter. "No? Okay, how about…"

"Woody, stop!" She stopped to catch her breath. "If I can't have my hat, I don't want to wear one. I'm a cowgirl, after all."

"A cowgirl, with any other hat, is still a cowgirl," Mr. Pricklepants said. "You can still yodel, can you not?" She nodded.

"And you still help out critters, right?" the Peas asked. Bullseye nudged her with his nose and she smiled.

"And you still are horrible at hide-and-seek," Mr. Potato Head offered, getting elbowed by his wife for the effort.

Jessie laughed, "Of course I am. I'm still me, you guys."

Woody smiled, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Yes, you are. You're the same Jessie, no matter what."

"And we love you, with or without your hat. And so does Bonnie," Dolly chimed in.

Jessie beamed as her smile grew, "Thanks you guys."

The clock on the wall chimed the hour and Woody exclaimed, "Better clean up, Bonnie's going to be back in ten minutes!"

Bonnie blew into the room with her usual exuberance, gathering up Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and Buttercup to join her on the bed for that night's sleep.

The room was quiet but for the soft breaths of the little girl. Buzz sat up and slipped off the bed without disturbing anyone. Or so he thought. He was lifting up the bedskirt when a tap on his shoulder startled him.

"What are you doin'?" Jessie smiled.

He grinned sheepishly, "Nothing. Couldn't sleep?"

She shrugged, "Listen… thanks. For the thing today. I know you and Woody cooked it up to make me feel better."

"Did it?" he folded his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, it did," she smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I mean, I'll miss my hat, but it's not the end of the world, right?"

"Gosh, it's too bad you feel that way," he shuffled his foot.

"What?" Jessie blinked in confusion. "Buzz, I thought the whole point of what you did was to make me feel better about losing my hat. Now you're telling me I _should_ feel bad?"

"No! But here I am, thinking you'd be happy to see this again," he pulled her hat from behind his back, "But if you're sure, I'll send it back to Sunnyside." He grinned.

She snatched her hat from his hand and plopped it into her head. "You found it!"

"Well, Barbie and Ken and the gang at Sunnyside found it. I just wanted to wait until the right moment to give it back to you."

She laughed, "Well, my hat's off t'you!"

Buzz groaned at the pun but smiled, "Now that you know you can, maybe you should leave your hat off more often. After all, you have a 'beautiful yarn full of hair'."

Jessie smiled, pulling her hat from her head. She took Buzz's hand, "Well, aren't you just the sweetest space toy I ever did meet." She planted a kiss on his lips before setting her hat on his head. She laughed, "I think it looks better on you, anyway." Before he could say anything, she scrambled back on to the bed.

He smiled and climbed up after her, leaving the hat peeking out from underneath the bed.


End file.
